Agriculture Briefs

May 16, 2010

Livestock producers who are interested in entering a North Dakota's Finest blue ribbon competition at the North Dakota State Fair, set for July 23-31, are now eligible to register online at (www.ndstatefair.com) or can visit the State Fair Office to receive a hard copy of the registration form and an Exhibitor Handbook. To request an Exhibitor Handbook by mail, contact the State Fair office at 857-7620.

Livestock categories shown at the Fair this summer will include: beef cattle, dairy cattle, swine, poultry, Boer goats, dairy goats, sheep and rabbits. Horse shows will include AQHA, Draft, Morgan AMHR, Team Roping, Barrel Bash and Open Western and English Shows.

Last year more than 41,000 entries were submitted by North Dakotans at the state level in the hopes of winning a blue ribbon at the North Dakota State Fair, and nearly $230,125 was paid out to the top placing individuals in 2009.

Chainsaw seminar to be held in Williston

NDSU Extension Forester Joe Zeleznik will conduct a chainsaw clinic and safety seminar at the Williston Research Extension Center June 2. The session will include tips on how to maintain your chainsaw and participants are welcome to bring their own saw to learn how to maintain it. The clinic is free and open to the public. Contact Lorna Bradbury at 774-4315 or (lorna.bradbury@ndsu.edu) for more information.

Hunters rip DNR for campaign with Humane Society

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A group of sportsmen and legislators criticized the state Department of Natural Resources for joining with the Humane Society on a radio campaign, saying Thursday that the partnership destroys the agency's credibility.

The DNR and the Humane Society of the United States are collaborating on radio announcements warning people not to take young wild animals home as pets.

Wisconsin Wildlife Federation President Jack Nissen said he doesn't have a problem with warning people to leave animals alone, but the DNR shouldn't have aligned itself with the Humane Society to produce the campaign.

Nissen said the Humane Society opposes hunting, trapping and animal agriculture, in direct opposition to the DNR's wildlife management and farm regulatory duties. He said he feared the partnership could lead to the Humane Society pressuring the DNR to tighten hunting regulations.

"You cannot imagine the consternation of hunters and trappers in this state to see the Wisconsin DNR closely allying itself with this fringe group aimed at ending hunting and trapping in Wisconsin and throughout the United States," Nissen wrote in a letter to DNR Secretary Matt Frank.

State Sen. Neal Kedzie, an Elkhorn Republican on the Senate's natural resources committee, wrote to Frank as well. He said he was "appalled" at the DNR's relationship with the Humane Society, especially when hunters are already upset with the agency's deer management strategies after a weak November hunt.

DNR Chief Warden Randy Stark, who is in charge of the radio campaign, insisted that the DNR still considers its partnerships with hunters, anglers and trappers critical. He said agency officials decided to approach the Humane Society because of its anti-poaching stance and contributions to rewards in animal thrill-kill investigations.